Nobody denies Jesus said it, but everyone wants to qualify the sentiment and distance themselves from the presentation of the sign.
via Radical Congruency.
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on Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 at 1.14 am and is filed under General.
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2007-02-03 at 8.43 am
There's nothing wrong with the content of the sign, but I worry about the way people take it, or possibly how they mean it. The word "love" has come to mean (in one sense), "turn a blind eye toward." Like the saying goes, loving someone means never having to say you're sorry. Of course, this is the same criticism leveled against Jesus when he ate with IRS auditors and porn stars, so take it with a grain of salt.
Christian love means that one ought always to be ready to forgive if the sinner repents. (And as a corollary, that we should pray that sinners repent.) But it doesn't mean that we have any obligation to forgive the unrepentant sinner–indeed, Paul recommends to "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved." Calm and persistent love towards those who are hateful against us–and a willingness to admit to any real sin on our part–is the kind of love that Jesus commands his disciples to have.
2007-02-03 at 11.23 am
Imagine if we took that seriously, and sent as many peacemakers as soldiers. Now there's a surge.
The US military is actually catching on to this. You can't just capture a town, remove apparent threats, and leave. To combat an insurgency, after you secure a region, you actually have to build something that says: we will help you build a society. If some sources in the Pentagon at the time are to be believed, that's why this war undertaken in the first place.
It's unfortunate we've alienated our European (because they are better at securing peace, generally) and Asian (because it's really their oil trade routes we're trying to open). Otherwise, we could bring in people with no apparent military stake.
2007-02-03 at 9.15 pm
Kevin, can you send me a larger version of this photo?
2007-02-04 at 1.24 am
Clicking on the photo should take you to its original home on flickr. I don't recall if a larger size was available there.
2007-02-04 at 6.31 pm
Seriously, I can't keep up with the changes of this blog's title! ;)
2007-02-05 at 8.00 am
"A Better Title" perhaps? :-P
2007-02-05 at 8.08 pm
Hey everyone, today is Kevin's birthday!
2007-02-05 at 8.47 pm
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
2007-02-06 at 8.22 am
Dang, I missed it. Happy belated, there, Kev
2007-02-06 at 11.03 pm
Happy Belated Birthday, great pic btw!
- Peace